FAFSA International Address Issues - Can Expatriates Use US Address When Living Overseas?

same thing happened to my cousin! he works overseas for a tech company, had to use his brother's US address for FAFSA. i think thats what everyone does

This is actually a common issue for expatriate families. For the address question, you should use the US address that represents your U.S. domicile (where you intend to return, maintain ties, etc.). This is typically where you file state taxes, have your driver's license, or are registered to vote. For the state of legal residency question, you should select the state where you maintain your legal domicile. Even though Purdue may classify you as a non-resident for tuition purposes, the FAFSA is asking about your legal domicile for federal aid purposes. These are different systems with different rules. The key is consistency - whatever state you claim on your tax returns should match what you put on the FAFSA. If you file taxes as a Michigan resident, then Michigan should be your answer.

I went through this EXACT situation last year!!! The FAFSA system is NOT designed for expats AT ALL and it's SO FRUSTRATING!! We're stationed in Germany (military) and I ended up using my in-laws' address in Texas since that's where we're technically "from" even though we haven't lived there in 7 years. For state residency I picked Texas since that's where we pay taxes. Honestly the whole thing is a MESS for expats. After submitting, we got flagged for verification and had to explain everything. Total nightmare.

just curious, why not just use a mail forwarding service? thats what my parents did when we lived in japan. they had a service in florida that would scan everything and email it to them. worked for fafsa too i think

As someone who works in university financial aid, I can clarify a few things: 1. For FAFSA purposes, U.S. citizens living abroad should use their most recent U.S. address where they maintain legal ties (voting, taxes, banking, etc.) 2. For state of legal residency, select the state where you last resided and still maintain legal connections. This is different from residency for tuition purposes. 3. Your FAFSA state residency won't impact your daughter's residency status for tuition - that's determined by each university separately using their own criteria. 4. When the new university processes her FAFSA, they'll see she's a U.S. citizen living abroad - this is actually fairly common and won't negatively affect federal aid eligibility. If selected for verification, be prepared to provide documentation explaining your expatriate status.

I tried calling the Federal Student Aid hotline about this EXACT issue last month when helping my nephew with his FAFSA (we're in South Korea). Spent 3 hours on hold before getting disconnected TWICE!! Finally I used Claimyr.com which got me through to an agent in about 10 minutes. They have a service that navigates the phone system for you - saw their demo video (https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ) and it actually worked! The FSA agent confirmed we should use our most recent US address and the state where we file taxes, and that expatriate status doesn't disqualify from federal aid but might impact state-specific aid. Worth talking to them directly about your situation.

Here's the official guidance on this: 1. Address: Use your most recent U.S. address where you maintain legal ties (voter registration, tax filing, etc.) 2. State of Legal Residency: This should be the state where you maintain legal domicile. Even if you physically reside overseas, you maintain legal residency in a U.S. state. 3. Tax Filing Status: Ensure consistency between your tax filing status and FAFSA information. Expatriate status doesn't impact federal aid eligibility since you're still a U.S. citizen. However, you may be ineligible for state-specific grants from your home state if you don't meet their particular residency requirements. Keep documentation showing your legal ties to your claimed state of residency in case of verification.

quick question do expatreates still qualify for pell grants? my cousin is moving to japan next year but his daughter is staying in US for college

UPDATE: I just submitted our FAFSA using our Michigan address (where we maintain our driver's licenses and file state taxes). For the state residency question, I selected Michigan as well to keep everything consistent. The form went through without any errors! Thank you all for your help. I've saved all our expatriate documentation in case we get selected for verification. What a relief to have this sorted out!

Congratulations on getting it submitted! Your approach was spot-on - using the address where you maintain legal ties and keeping everything consistent with your tax filing status is exactly what the Department of Education expects from expatriate families. I've helped several expat families navigate this same issue, and the key is always that consistency between documents. Even if you do get selected for verification (which honestly isn't that common), you're well-prepared with your documentation. Your daughter's federal aid eligibility won't be affected by your overseas residence since you're all still U.S. citizens. Best of luck with her college applications!

As someone who just went through this process with my own daughter while we're stationed in Germany, I wanted to add that keeping detailed records of your U.S. ties is crucial! Beyond just tax returns, I recommend keeping copies of your voter registration, any U.S. bank statements, and documentation showing where you maintain your driver's license. We also kept a copy of my husband's overseas employment contract to explain why we're living abroad. The financial aid office at my daughter's university was actually very understanding when I called to give them a heads up about our expat status - they said it's becoming more common and they're used to working with families in similar situations. One thing I wish someone had told me earlier is that some states have specific requirements for maintaining residency while abroad, so it might be worth checking your state's specific rules too!

I'm going through this exact same situation right now! My family has been living in the UK for work for the past two years, and I was completely panicking about the FAFSA address requirements for my son's college applications. Reading through everyone's responses here has been so helpful - especially knowing that using our home state address (where we still file taxes and vote) is the correct approach. I was worried we'd somehow get flagged as fraudulent for not living at the address we put down, but it sounds like this is actually the standard procedure for expat families. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences, particularly those who mentioned keeping documentation organized for potential verification. This process is stressful enough without having to worry about these technical details that the FAFSA system doesn't handle well!

This thread has been incredibly helpful for understanding the expat FAFSA situation! I'm currently preparing to move overseas for work next year and was already stressing about how this would affect my daughter's college financial aid process. Reading through everyone's experiences has clarified so much - especially the distinction between legal domicile (for FAFSA) versus physical residence, and the importance of maintaining consistency with tax filing state. I'm definitely bookmarking this thread for reference when we get to that point. It's unfortunate that the FAFSA system doesn't have better support for these increasingly common expat situations, but at least there's a clear path forward thanks to all the shared experiences here. For other families facing this, it seems like the key takeaways are: use your legal domicile address, match your tax filing state, keep thorough documentation of your U.S. ties, and don't panic if you get selected for verification since expat status is becoming more common for financial aid offices to handle.

As a tax preparer who works with many expat families, I want to emphasize something that hasn't been mentioned yet - make sure your tax filing status aligns with your FAFSA state selection for multiple years, not just the current tax year. The IRS looks at patterns of state tax filing to determine legal residency, and financial aid offices may review prior year returns during verification. If you've been filing Michigan taxes consistently while overseas, that strengthens your case for Michigan residency on the FAFSA. Also, be aware that some states have specific "safe harbor" provisions for military families or other government employees working abroad that might not apply to private sector expats - Michigan's rules are generally expat-friendly, but it's worth understanding the nuances. One last tip: if your employer provides any official documentation about your overseas assignment (like a secondment letter), keep that with your verification documents as it helps explain the temporary nature of your overseas residence.

I'm dealing with a similar situation but from a slightly different angle - we're planning to move overseas next year after my daughter starts college, and I'm wondering how this might affect her ongoing FAFSA applications for subsequent years. Would I need to update her FAFSA address information if we move abroad after she's already enrolled, or can we keep using our current US address since she'll be attending college here? Also curious if anyone knows whether parent location changes during college years impact aid calculations at all. The timing is tricky since we want to make sure nothing disrupts her financial aid package once she's settled in her program.

I'm going through this exact same situation right now with my twin daughters applying for college next year! We've been living in Dubai for my husband's job for the past 4 years, and I was completely lost on the FAFSA address requirements. Reading through all these responses has been such a relief - I was genuinely worried we might accidentally commit some kind of fraud by not living at our "address." We've maintained our Texas residency (that's where we vote, file state taxes, and have our driver's licenses), so it sounds like using our Texas address is the correct approach. The consistency point everyone keeps mentioning really resonates - we've been filing Texas taxes the whole time we've been overseas, so that should align perfectly with putting Texas on the FAFSA. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences, especially those who went through verification successfully. It's so helpful to know that financial aid offices are getting more familiar with expat families!

This thread has been absolutely invaluable for expat families! I'm currently living in Australia for work and was completely overwhelmed trying to figure out the FAFSA requirements for my son's college applications. Reading everyone's experiences has made it clear that using our legal domicile address (where we maintain voting registration and file state taxes) is the standard approach, not some kind of workaround. What really helped me understand was the distinction between legal domicile vs. physical residence - the FAFSA is asking for where you maintain legal ties to the US, not where you're physically located. It's frustrating that the FAFSA system isn't designed with expats in mind, but at least there's a clear path forward thanks to all the shared experiences here. For anyone else in this situation, the key seems to be maintaining consistency between your tax filing state and FAFSA state selection, and keeping thorough documentation of your US ties just in case of verification. Thank you to everyone who took the time to share their stories - it's made what felt like an impossible situation much more manageable!

This has been such an informative thread! As someone who's about to start the expat journey with a high schooler, I'm taking notes on all these valuable insights. The consensus seems clear: use your legal domicile address (where you maintain voting, tax filing, banking ties), keep everything consistent with your state tax returns, and document your US connections thoroughly. What strikes me most is how many families are dealing with this exact situation - it really shows that the FAFSA system needs better accommodation for the growing number of expat families. The peace of mind from knowing that using your legal domicile address is the correct approach (not a workaround) is huge. Thank you to everyone who shared their verification experiences too - it's reassuring to know that even if selected, having proper documentation makes the process manageable. This community support for navigating these complex situations is amazing!

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm in a similar situation - we've been living in Japan for my husband's work assignment for the past two years, and I was completely confused about how to handle the FAFSA address requirements for our daughter's college applications. Like many others here, I was worried about using our home state address (California) when we're not physically living there, but reading everyone's experiences has clarified that using your legal domicile is exactly what you're supposed to do. We've maintained our California voter registration, file state taxes there, and kept our CA driver's licenses, so it sounds like we're on the right track. The consistency message really resonates - having everything align between tax filing and FAFSA seems to be the key. Thank you to everyone who shared their verification experiences too - it's reassuring to know that expat status is becoming more common for financial aid offices to handle. This community support has turned what felt like an overwhelming process into something much more manageable!